Martian Marathon - Run

I messed this one up. Right off the bat I made some fateful decisions that would ruin my only shot at a Boston for the year. 1. It was a cool start and I didn't think I would sweat much. Wrong. 2. I decided to rely on the course for hydration needs. Bad idea. I usually carry my own water with NUNNs.
I started this with 2 goals. A. Finish in 3:20. B. Finish by 3:30 for a BQ.
So, the race started off fine. I held my perfect 7:27 pace average for the first 10 miles. Then the legs started slowing down. For my 3:20 finish, I had to average a 7:35. Slowly over the next 5 miles, I kept creeping towards that absolute average, and then by mile 16 it was gone. Now the question was, can I hold on for my 3:30. It only took about 3 miles to know that I was going down the tubes quickly. I kept doing the math, and I kept trying to speed up to make it work, but eventually, I knew that it wasn't in the cards. At around mile 18, this kid from the half marathon spotted me, and for whatever reason, he saddled up on my left, and decided I was going to be his running buddy. For a couple of miles, we just ran side by side without talking, At the next water stop, I decided to walk it to get a few cups and drink all of them. This guy walked to, and when I started back up, he did to and pulled up right beside me again, so I said, "Ok, looks like we're doing this together....what's your name?" He said, "Will". and for the next several EXTREMELY PAINFUL miles, Will decided to stay with me. Whether I walked or jogged, he decided to just do whatever I was doing. I was getting pretty pathetic near the end, and was doing a series of little "walk / jogs" and told Will to just go for it, but he just did my little walk jogs with me. If it wasn't for Will, I would have probably done a lot more walking than jogging, so I was happy to have someone kinda holding me responsible for giving more effort than I wanted to . We turned the last few corners together, and just before the finish we split into our separate chutes. I finished with a smile, the pain was not good. I saw Will for a quick second afterwards and thanked him for helping me through those last few miles. Stephanie Rath, was just seconds behind me, and as I began to walk through the finish chute, I felt this hand on my shoulder, and it was Stephanie. WOW, she was right on my heels. I almost wish she would have passed me. I came a long way to accomplish something, and in the end, I thought I blew it. But I still came away with a important lesson that I can use for myself and share with others. This was my first "road trip" with running friends as well, and I had a awesome time with them, and can't wait to do it again. Friends are what makes this doing for the long haul.

Just take my own supplies.

I walked around is some big freaking pain, and then just decided to lie down on the concrete. I made it about 5 minutes before both calves started cramping, so some guy helped my up and took me to the MED tent, where some muslim woman thought giving me a half bagel with cream cheese and some water was "medical help." I sat for a while, and before I left, she asked if I wanted some Ibuprofen, to which I agreed to take. Maybe that would have been the FIRST thing to offer me, but I'm not doctor, and if Bagels and Cream cheese are the first lines of defense now adays, well, I'll remind my doctor next time I see him/her.


Water. Nunns.


More water please.